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| Lovely Lake Crescent |
Olympic National Park has something for everyone. You like snow-capped mountains? They’ve got that. Pacific Ocean beaches? They’ve got that, too. Scenic mountain lakes? Yup! Rain forests, and sub-alpine forests? Yup and yup!
So many things to do, and so many eco-systems to explore.
Rialto Beach - Pacific Ocean
Located on (and encompassing much of) the Olympic Peninsula
in Washington State, this National Park feels lightyears away from the multitude
of metro areas surrounding Puget Sound, even though it is actually only a
little over an hours drive by car plus a ferry ride away.
What a wonderful place!
Lake Crescent at sunrise
We camped at the Log Cabin Resort and Campground located in
the northern part of the park. The
campground is situated on gorgeous Lake Crescent. Dark green, forest covered mountains draped
in clouds form a backdrop behind the lake.
It was so beautiful and peaceful we were tempted to stay at the
campground the entirety of our visit and just soak in the restorative beauty.
We kept driving West until our feet got wet ...
However, we’ve been telling all who asked about our trip
that we were “going to keep driving West until our feet got wet.” We had to leave the lake to find the
ocean. The coastal part of the park runs
for 54 miles in a thin band along most of the Pacific coast of the
peninsula. It is separated from the main
section of park by National Forest, some private landholdings, a few towns, and
a few Indian Reservations. This part of the coastline includes Point Alava, the westernmost point in the lower 48 states.
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| Quillayute River separated from the ocean by a berm of pebbles and a pile of driftwood |
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| Huge bleached tree trunks line the beach |
We visited Rialto Beach where the Quillayute River meets the
sea. Driftwood composed of bleached trunks
of massive trees form a barrier between the river and ocean, as the river curves and fans out into a delta before merging with the sea. The beach is formed of dark, flat, worn, oval
pebbles. Some as big as your hand, some
as fine as a grain of sand. Off the
coast stand huge rock structures. Some
devoid of vegetation and some growing brave, hardy trees.
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| They grow big trees in the rain forest! |
After a walk on the beach, we headed to the Hoh Rain Forest,
one of two rain forests in the park, and the closest to Rialto Beach. It is "only” 45 miles away. The Hoh Rain Forest is one of the park's most
popular areas. It has limited parking,
so there is a waiting line to drive in.
For each car that leaves, a car from the line is allowed to enter.
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| This gauge effectively shows the 2023 rain deficit |
The mighty Hoh River carries ice melt from the glaciers on top of Mount
Olympus to the sea. Along its banks,
this section of forest receives an average of 140 inches of rain a year. With so much water, the trees grow really big
and their branches and trunks are covered with moss. Ferns abound on the ground. A graph at the Visitors Center show the
current rainfall in 2023 against the average rainfall.
The Hoh Rain Forest is running a deficit of rain this year.
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| Early nurse log |
We learned about nurse logs.
When a mighty tree falls, it leaves a gap in the canopy for sunlight to
peak through and stimulate new growth.
Tiny plants take root along the decaying trunk, using the nutrients in
the old tree to fuel their growth.
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| Nurse log with small trees |
Over time, a few of these plants grow into trees, and later a few of those trees continue to grow into mighty trees themselves.
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| Mature trees still use nutrients from the nurse log |
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| Until the log is all gone |
If you see a straight line row of trees in the rain forest,
chances are you are seeing the legacy of a nurse log from centuries ago.
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| They call this the Hall of Moss |
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| Epiphyte lichens and moss do not hurt the host tree |
The branches of some of the trees are covered with a lichens and
moss. These are epiphytes, plants that
live on the tree, but do not harm it.
They absorb nutrients and moisture from the air. They are home to miniature creatures like
mites, millipedes and spiders. If you’ve
been reading this blog for a while, you might remember that we pointed out
epiphytes that we saw at the Corkscrew Swamp Audubon Sanctuary in Florida.
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| Such a beautiful, wild place |
Distances between places are huge here at Olympia National
Park. The Rialto Beach and the Pacific
Ocean was 55 miles from where we were staying on Lake Crescent.
Our trip back to the campground from Hoh Rain Forest was 74 miles. There is one road, 101, that circles this
huge, 1 million acres (1,441 square miles) park. Roads branch off of it into the park, but
none cross the park because a glacier topped mountain occupies the center of
the park. While we think that it is
enormous, Olympic is only the 13th largest park in the National Park
System.
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| We could all use a quiet day on Lake Crescent |
We saw enough in one day to be amazed and impressed and to
know that in order to do justice to Olympic National Park, you need more
time. Including a day set aside to just sit
quietly and soak in the serenity of Lake Crescent.
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